Electric conduit



(No Model.) v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. E. ELLIOTT.

ELECTRIC GONDUIT.

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l ll Il mi?? Patented Sept. 2, 1890.

1HE Noms Panna cn., moro-mno., wAsmNe'rcN, n. c.

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(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. E. ELLIOTT.

ELECTRIC GONDUIT.`

Patented Sept. 2, 1890.

No. 435,487.A

' UNITED ySTATES PATENT EEIcE.

VILLIAM It. ELLIOTT, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

ELECTRIC CONDUIT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,487', datedSeptember 2, 1890.

Application filed March 20, 1890. Serial No. 344,599. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. ELLIOTT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri,have invented a new and useful Electric Conduit, of which the followingis'a specification.

This invention relates to electric conduits, more especially of thatclass having a slot through which projects a device similar to a trolleycarried bya moving car, and by means of which one or more currents arecarried upward to the ear.

The object of the invention is to construct the conduit in such a mannerthat the conductor will be perfectly insulated and access thereto willbe impossible, whereby all danger of accident will be avoided, as wellas to effect the perfect draining and cleaning of the conduit. Thisobject I accomplish by my improved conduit., which consists,essentially, of the conductor suitably insulated and supported beneath aslotted iron between the rails, pivoted contactors normally out ofcontact therewith, and a trolley carried by the car and adapted to throwsaid contactors against said conductor as the car progresses, togetherwith adjunetive and specific details of construction assisting in theaccomplishment of the above objects and certain auxiliaries tending toenhance the value of the' completed structure, all as willbe hereinaftermore fully described and as are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l is transverse section of this conduit. Fig.2 is a longitudinal section through the slot. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal'section through the conductor. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of thetrolley.

Referring to the said drawings, the letter I represents one of the tiesfor the road-bed, which is bent downwardly at its center, as at i', toform a drain or channel.

The letter K designates the rails forming the track upon which the carsrun, as will be understood, and these rails are secured to theextremities of the ties in the usual or in any preferred manner.

S is a slotted iron covering the drain and is of the shape incross-section shown in Fig. l, this iron being secured to the ties whereit crosses them and extending the entire length of the railroad.

Between the slotted iron and ties are clamped theA supports U,preferably by the same bolts B by which the iron is attached, and theinneren ds of these su pportshave shoulders u, also as shown in Fig. lof the drawings.

The letterl C designates the conductor, which is not insulated, butwhich rests in recesses or notches N, cutin insulating-supports M. Thelatter are located at points between the ties within a compound tube K,consisting of two U-shaped members fitting into each other, as shown.The lower meniber rests upon the support U, between its shoulder -u andthe upright bar ot' the slotted iron S, and the upper member fits overthis lower member closely, thereby forming a water-proof coating theentire length of the conductor. The insulated support M is of a size tofit exactly within this compound tube, and the -upper end of the slot Ntherein is covered by a plate lI when in position. The tube K ispreferably coated or lined with asbestus or some other good water-proofmaterial, and the conductor is thereby effectually protected from theelements, as will be understood.

The supports U are each provided with a threaded opening O, within whichis screwed a block Z, wherein, upon insulated bearings p, is pivot-ed acontactor P. The upper arm of this contactor passes through a hole inthe bottom of the lower member of the compound tube K, and is providedat its tip with a weighted head Il, which stands normally below and outof contact with the conductor C. The lower arm of the contacter iscurved slightly and depends below the lower face of the support U.

Fig. 4 illustrates the form of trolley I use in connection with thisimproved conduit. T is a metallic head having a groove t in its upperface and rounded ol'f at its ends, as shown. There are two of theseheads connected to but electrically insulated from each other, and eachis supported by a metallic bar Y, which is electrically connected withthe motor on the ear, but which is mechanically supported by springs G,as.shown. The conduit having been laid in a manner which will beunderstood from the above description and an electric current passedfrom a dynamo or other source of electrical energy along one conductor Cand back on the other,

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the car is now placed upon the track, with the bars Y passing throughthe slot in the iron S. As the car progresses along the track, the lowercurved ends of the contactors P ride up over the rounded ends of theheads T of the trolley and pass along the grooves t. This motion of theeontactors throws their upper ends, which are .within the tubes K,upwardly against the conductors C-one against one conductor and theother against the other. The current is therefore passed from one conductor, through its contactor, the head vR, and the bar Y, to the motoron the car, and down the other bar Y, through the head T at that side,up the other contacter, and into the other conductor, whence it returnsto the dynamo, all as will be clear to anl electrician. The head T mustof course be of such length that one contactor will be. thrown intocontact with its conductor before the nextin rear thereof drops out ofcontact therewith, and a constant electric communication is thercforemaintained between the motor on the car and the dynamo at theengine-house of the road.

Although I have not illustrated it, one of the conductors and itssurrounding tube and supports and one of the 1eads T and its bar Y maybe omitted and the current returned through the rails K in a manner alsowell known among electric engineers, and the principle of thepresentinvention need not be departed from in the least.

When it is desired to have access to the conductor U or to the interiorof the tube K, the slotted iron S is removed, the upper member of thetube lifted off, and the plates II removed from the upper ends of theslots N, after which the conductor will be exposed to View and accesscan be had thereto for any purpose whatever. The insulating-supports Mare preferably provided with holes E, whereby the tube K is made openfrom end to end and a current of air can be passed therethrough for thepurpose of cleaning out the dust or otherwise. With this construction arubber packing or gasket F surrounds the contactor I above its pivot pand seals the hole through the bottom of the lower mein ber of the tube,and no leakage of air will therefore occur at that point.

The letter B designates a brush carried by certain of the cars on theroad, or by each car, if desired, and as the car moves along the trackthis brush passes through the drain and cleans the sa1ne,the dirt andwater therein being swept thereby to suitable sinks in the drain, aswill be understood.

I claim as the salient points of this inventionu l. In an electricconduit, a two-partwaterproof tube, the upper part of which isremovable, insulating-plates therein provided with open-top notches,within which the conductor rest-s, and plates secured across the -upperends of said notches, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in an electric conduit, with the tube containing theconductor, of a support below the same and a contactor pivoted in andpassing through said support and tube, its head standing normally out ofcontact with said conductor, substantially as described.

3. The combination,i11 an electric conduit, with the tube and the platestherein supporting the conductor, of supports for said tube beneath thesame at points between said plates and contactors pivoted in and passingthrough said supports and tube, their heads standing normally out ofcontact with said conductor, substantially as described.

4. The combination, in an elect-ric conduit, with the tube and theperforated plates therein supporting the conductor, of supports for saidtube beneath the saine at points between said plates, contactors pivotedin and passing through said supports and tube, and rubber packingsurrounding said contactors where they pass throughthe tube, as and forthe purpose set forth.

5. In an electric conduit, the combination, with the conductor C, thesupports U, and insulating devices, substantially as described, betweenthem, of the blocks Z, screwed into said supports, and the contactors P,journaled upon .insulated bearings within said blocks, all constructedand operating as set forth. 4

6. In an electric conduit, the combination, with the conductor and thecontactors pivoted below the same with their heads normally out ofcontact therewith, of the trolley carried by the car, the samecomprising a head T, having rounded ends with grooves t in their upperfaces adapted to pass beneath the lower ends of the contactors and turnthe same on their pivots, and the spring-actuated bars Y, supportingsaidheads, as and for the purpose set forth. i

7. In an electric conduit for railways, the combination, with the tiesdepressed at their centers to form a drain and the conductors supportedfrom the top of said drain, of the trolley carried by the car and makingcontact with said conductors and a brush carried by the ear, the wholeoperating substantially as described.

8. In an electric conduit for railways, the combination of the tiesdepressed at their centers, the slotted irons and conduit-supportssecured to said ties, the conduit proper carried by said su pports, andcontactors, substantially as described, pivoted in said supports andadapted to be operated by the trolley on the car, as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto axed mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM R. ELLIOTT.

Vtnesses:

R. W. DAYTON, R. J. MARSHALL.

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